ZIP 61301 vs ZIP 61372

This side-by-side compares ZIP 61301 (La Salle, IL) and ZIP 61372 (Troy Grove, IL) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 61301 has a population of 10,588 at 103 people per square mile, while ZIP 61372 has 145 at 217 per square mile. That difference in population size and density alone reshapes how every other metric should be interpreted — a higher-income ZIP with 1,200 residents behaves very differently from one with 45,000.

On income and education, ZIP 61301 reports a median household income of $60,328 against $83,917 in ZIP 61372, with per-capita income of $32,444 vs $25,245. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 18.3% in 61301 and 30.1% in 61372. Poverty rate reads 17.3% vs 47.3%, and unemployment 5.1% vs 0.0% — these four fields alone drive most of the difference in the scorecard grades you will see for each ZIP.

Housing separates these two ZIPs further: median home value sits at $129,000 in 61301 versus $200,800 in 61372, with median rent of $1,039 and $863 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 68.0% vs 88.3%. When reading the comparison table below, focus on paired metrics rather than single winners — a ZIP with lower home values and lower income is not strictly "worse" if rent-to-income ratios and commute times land in the same zone. Every value is pulled from the exact same ACS table so the two columns are genuinely comparable.